Galeries Lafayette Group

A responsible group and leading physical and online retailer with French roots and international standing

about us

Specialised in city-centre fashion retailing, the Galeries Lafayette group positions itself, in France as well as overseas, as the benchmark in omni-channel retailing and contributes to promoting the French “Art of Living” through its brands.

Strengthened by its architectural heritage and a strong innovative culture, the Galeries Lafayette group receives more than 1 million visitors every day in its 280 stores and e-commerce websites. The Group enjoys a long-standing, emotional connection with its clients that it nurtures at every opportunity, both online and in store, to provide the best possible experience in retail and creativity.

Over time, the Group has built up the international recognition of its iconic brands: Galeries Lafayette, BHV/MARAIS, La Redoute, Galeries Lafayette-Royal Quartz Paris, Louis Pion, Guérin Joaillerie, BazarChic and InstantLuxe.com. The Group supports the brands in their asset, digital and creative transformation through Citynove, Lafayette Plug and Play and Lafayette Anticipations - Galeries Lafayette Corporate Foundation.

One of France’s leading private employers with nearly 16,000 employees, the Galeries Lafayette group has built its identity on a set of fundamental values: sharing its passion for clients, daring to innovate, growing stronger together and striving for excellence.

16,000

Employees

€4.5bn

In retail sales

100%

Family owned

280

Stores

1M

Visitors per day

1894

Creation of Galeries Lafayetteby Théophile Bader

Governance

The Galeries Lafayette group is a French société anonyme (limited company)

with an Executive Board and a Supervisory Board representing the shareholders.

La Redoute

Louis Pion - Galeries Lafayette - Royal Quartz Paris

History

Mindful of the need to steward our heritage, in 2008 we created our Corporate Heritage Division, which shares the company’s archives with researchers and the general public.

1894

Two cousins from Alsace, Théophile Bader and Alphonse Kahn, open a sundries shop called Aux Galeries Lafayette, located at 1 rue Lafayette in Paris.

1912

Opening of the Paris Haussmann department store with its dome designed by Fernand Chanut.

1916

The first Galeries Lafayette store opens outside Paris, in Nice in southern France.

1920

First outlet outside France with the opening of the Regent Street store in London (which closed in 1972).

1922

Galeries Lafayette creates the La Maîtrise applied arts workshops.

1932

Creation of the Monoprix banner.

1941-1944

The founding family is sidelined during the German Occupation and the company is placed under the administration of the Vichy government until the French Liberation.

1971

Acquisition of Inno France and opening of the first store located in a shopping center (Rungis-Belle Epine).

1973

Opening of the Maine-Montparnasse Galeries Lafayette store.

1985

Acquisition of the Aux Dames de France banner.

1991

Acquisition of the Nouvelles Galeries and Bazar de l’Hôtel de Ville (BHV) banners, the Nice Cap 3000 shopping center and Cofinoga, a credit company.

1996

Opening of the Berlin Galeries Lafayette, in a building designed by Jean Nouvel.

1997

Monoprix signs a strategic alliance with the Casino group to take over the Prisunic chain.

2004

Acquisition of the Marks & Spencer stores in France and opening of the Boulevard Haussmann Lafayette Maison store.

2005

The Moulin family becomes sole owner of the Galeries Lafayette Group; Ginette Moulin is appointed Chairwoman of Galeries Lafayette's Supervisory Board and Philippe Houzé chairs the Executive Board.

2007

Acquisition of Louis Pion/Royal Quartz.

2008

Creation of Citynove, the company that manages and enhances Galeries Lafayette's properties.

2009

Opening of a Galeries Lafayette store in Dubai.

2011

Opening of a Galeries Lafayette store in Casablanca.

2012

Acquisition of Didier Guérin and divestment of Monoprix.

2012

Celebration of the dome's 100th anniversary and creation of an exhibition designed with Rem Koolhaas and his architectural firm, OMA.

2013

Opening of Galeries Lafayette stores in Beijing and Jakarta, kick-off of the Galeries Lafayette Corporate Foundation project and announcement of plans to open flagship stores in Doha and Istanbul in 2016.

2014

Divestment of LaSer Cofinoga; Acquisition of a significant stake in the Carrefour Group; Announcement of the project to open Galeries Lafayette stores in Milan in 2018; Opening of the Boulevard Haussmann Lafayette Gourmet & Maison store and of the 1st Galeries Lafayette Outlet store

2015

Lease at 52 avenue des Champs Elysees in Paris for the future Galeries Lafayette store which should open in 2018; Launch of the new Galeries Lafayette brand identity and online shopping site

2016

Acquisitions of InstantLuxe.com and BazarChic; Launch of the Lafayette Plug and Play accelerator; BHV MARAIS 160th anniversary; Launch of the new Didier Guérin brand identity which becomes Guérin Joaillerie

2017

Openings of Galeries Lafayette stores in Istanbul and in Carré Sénart (France); opening of the Welcome and Shopping Center store near the Galeries Lafayette Haussmann; opening of a BHV MARAIS store in Dubaï; remodelling of the BHV PARLY 2 store in France

2018

Opening of the Lafayette Anticipations Corporate Foundation; opening of a Galeries Lafayette store in Marseille Prado; acquisition of a majority stake in La Redoute

Our values

Passion for our customers

As a retailer, the Galeries Lafayette group places customers at the heart of everything it does. All employees share a common passion for our customers and aim to surprise, attract, serve and win their loyalty by offering the best choice of products, the best presentation and the best services for a truly unique shopping experience.

2

Daring to innovate

Being a family-run group gives us complete freedom to reinvent ourselves. It gives us the freedom to invest, take risks, anticipate the future, encourage new talents and support designers; that’s what our DNA is made of. It is this freedom that allows us to thrive and to grow. Each of us is encouraged to propose new ideas to take part in the future of the Group, as part of a continuous improvement process.

3

Stronger together

The Group is built on a generous and family-based model: we are stronger together. To work together means to think as a team, to help and support each other to achieve our goal. Together we progress, evolve and create success. It is together that we please and delight our customers.

4

Striving for excellence

The Galeries Lafayette group’s banners are among the leaders in their sectors: they illustrate not only our great skill in product selection but also the quality of our relationship with our customers. Employees from every level of the company form the links of a chain to our customers. They are the ambassadors of the French “ Art of Living”. Our mission is to offer a carefully selected range of products, to go the extra mile to offer impeccable service, and fulfil all our customers’ desires and to share this culture with the rest of the world.

Innovation at the galeries lafayette’s group

Committed to an approach that emphasizes innovation, boldness and creativity which hav always been the foundations of our brand essence, in 2014 the Galeries Lafayette group set up the Innovation & Development Division, an organization, with a start-up mind-set to serve the company.

This agile division pioneers innovative ideas for our different brands by creating opportunities to diversify a long-standing retail tradition and by catering to the new momentum of multi-channel retailing businesses. Its mission is also to support concepts with the highest potential; such as the Cuillier project (more information on Cuillier.fr) and the Lafayette Plug and Play accelerator, launched in 2016 in partnership with Plug and Play Tech Center.

Lafayette – Plug and Play

Located in the heart of Paris, this start-up accelerator aims to support the development of French and international start-ups that are transforming retail and fashion. By supporting the industry’s leading start-ups in France and overseas, Lafayette Plug and Play allows the Group to benefit by sharing best practice, implementing unparalleled innovation monitoring. This innovative programme seeks to adapt to the new dynamics in omni-channel retail and anticipate the expectations of clients, both online and in-store.